Comcast goes WiMAX

Last year, Sprint and Clearwire consolidated their WiMAX businesses in the Clear 4G wireless network, which was partly funded by investments from Google, Intel, and cable companies Time Warner, Bright House Networks, and Comcast.

Today, Comcast officially became the first Clear reseller among the investors, launching its "High Speed 2go" WiMAX subscription service in Portland, Oregon. The cable company announced that there will be further rollouts in Atlanta, Chicago, and Philadelphia later this year as well. The plan is similar to the Sprint 4G service the carrier announced last March.

There will be no digital voice component to any Comcast High-Speed 2go packages, but there with be either 4G or 4G/3G dual-mode data packages which work on Clearwire's WiMAX and Sprint's 3G networks. The 4G-only plan is known as "Comcast High Speed 2go Metro," and the dual-mode plan is known as "Comcast High Speed 2go Nationwide."

Comcast's 4G access can be bundled with wired home access, starting at $49.99 per month for a 12 Mbps home connection and 4 Mbps WiMAX connection.